Marco AMBROSIO

Italian goalkeeper Marco Ambrosio had hardly set his homeland alight when, at the age of 30, he joined Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea side from Chievo in June 2003. Having never been more than an understudy previously, it is fair to assume that he would not have been signed had Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the London club a month earlier than he did, but starting the season as third choice, Marco eventually proved to be a very useful acquisition indeed. With Carlo Cudicini rested and fellow new boy Jurgen Macho injured prior to the start of the season, Marco made a dreadful debut in a League Cup clash with Notts County where his performance in an eventual 4-2 victory had the Blues supporters watching through their fingers, but when he returned to the side for a clash at Bolton Wanderers in March he looked a new man.

Only selected because of injury and illness to Cudicini and Neil Sullivan respectively, Marco was the hero of the day with a string of unorthodox saves which kept the home side at bay throughout a first-half which they dominated, Chelsea eventually triumphing 2-0. As Cudicini's injury-hit campaign continued, Ambrosio made the goalkeeper's jersey his own and featured in both legs of the memorable Champions League victory over Arsenal before playing in the semi-final first-leg defeat by Monaco. He also kept a clean-sheet as the Blues won 1-0 at Tottenham. However, Cudicini returned for the final weeks of the season and with Czech Republic goalkeeper Peter Cech already signed, Marco Ambrosio moved on to Swiss side Grasshoppers in August 2004 on a free-transfer. (Kelvin Barker)